In-depth Analysis
by Andrew Caulfield
SIRELINE
I Will Follow
was one of 64 stakes winners sired by the brilliant French
performer Herbager, who earned a Timeform rating of 136 with a
sequence of five three-year-old victories that included the Prix du
Jockey-Club and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Perhaps Herbager owed
some of his brilliance to his incestuously-bred dam, Flagette, who
was by a son of the St Leger winner Firdaussi out of a daughter of
the same stallion.
Whatever the explanation of his talent, Herbager proved very
adept at passing it on to his progeny. His best European
representatives included the top colts Grey Dawn, Sea Hawk, Appiani
and Meadow Mint, while his numerous American stakes winners were
headed by the champion filly Our Mims. Another of Herbager’s
notable achievements was to sire Ballade, the outstanding broodmare
responsible for Glorious Song, Saint Ballado and Devil’s Bag.
I Will Follow was one of two very good daughters of the Oaks
second Where You Lead, the other being the Oaks runner-up Slightly
Dangerous. This exceptional broodmare produced Warning, the
champion of his generation at two and three; Commander In Chief,
winner of the Derby and Irish Derby; Dushyantor, runner-up in the
Derby and St Leger; Deploy, runner-up in the Irish Derby; Yashmak,
a Gr.1 winner who was also second in the Irish Oaks and fourth in
the Oaks; and Jibe, runner-up in the Gr.1 Fillies’ Mile.
Rainbow Quest’s third dam, Noblesse, placed herself firmly among
the best-ever winners of the Oaks when she eased home ten lengths
clear in 1963. Is it any wonder, in view of the immense talent
shown by his family, that Rainbow Quest has proved so effective
both as a racehorse and a stallion?
PERFORMANCE
Considering that his price of $950,000 placed him
among the top 20 yearling colts at the 1982 American yearling
sales, Rainbow Quest was always the subject of considerable
expectations - and he didn’t disappoint.
Sent into training with Jeremy Tree, he showed a high level of
ability from the very start, despite having a May 15 birthday.
Rainbow Quest had clearly inherited plenty of the speed and
precocity that had made his sire Blushing Groom the two-year-old
sensation of 1976.
Tree had Rainbow Quest ready to make his debut in a 7-furlong
maiden race at Newmarket in August, and the youngster ran on very
well to defeat his 29 opponents, winning in style by 2 lengths.
Another big field faced Rainbow Quest at Newbury the following
month, when he started a hot favourite for the Haynes, Hanson and
Clark Stakes over a mile, and he produced another very promising
display to win.
The impression created by Rainbow Quest’s victories was so
favourable that he started second favourite behind another unbeaten
colt, El Gran Senor, in the Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes. The betting
proved accurate and Rainbow Quest proved to be the only one capable
of extending the brilliant Irish raider. Keeping up a determined
challenge, he reduced El Gran Senor’s winning distance to half a
length, the pair finishing well clear of the Prix Morny winner
Siberian Express in third place. The compilers of the International
Classifications had no hesitation in placing El Gran Senor and
Rainbow Quest in first and second places, separated by 1lb.
Timeform was similarly impressed, rating him 130.
Rainbow Quest confirmed his standing as one of the best of his
generation at three, when he won the Gr.2 Great Voltigeur Stakes
most impressively from Gold And Ivory, Head For Heights and
Shernazar. He had started his three-year-old campaign by running
Lear Fan to a short head in the Gr.3 Craven Stakes over a mile and
then contested three classics. He found the mile of the 2,000
Guineas too sharp for him by that stage when fourth in the 2,000
Guineas but he then finished a fine third, beaten two lengths by
Darshaan and half a length by Sadler’s Wells, in a
highly-competitive Prix du Jockey-Club. Sent to Ireland for the
Irish Derby, he again proved to be the only one capable of giving
El Gran Senor a race, running him to a length.
With his late birthdate no longer a disadvantage at the age of
four, Rainbow Quest translated his new-found maturity into even
more impressive form. After cantering over the opposition in the
Clive Graham Stakes over 1¼ miles at Goodwood on his reappearance,
he handed out the same treatment to his six rivals in the Gr.1
Coronation Cup, winning hard held from the Derby Italiano winner
Old Country. He then ran well to finish second to Pebbles in the
Eclipse Stakes and a close third in the King George but saved his
best effort for the Arc. Although he crossed the line a neck behind
Sagace (an impressive winner of the previous year’s Arc), the
head-on camera revealed that Sagace had twice bumped heavily into
Rainbow Quest. The stewards promoted Rainbow Quest to first place,
a decision which Timeform considered correct. “Unhampered Rainbow
Quest would probably have won narrowly,” was their view.
Timeform rated Rainbow Quest 134 - 3lb higher than at three -
and he was officially rated the joint-top older horse in Europe. It
is a measure of his considerable talent that he achieved a Timeform
rating of at least 130 at the ages of two, three and four. How many
horses can claim that?
He won from 7 furlongs to 1½ miles, produced his form on
virtually every type of going except heavy and was an admirable
racehorse.
STALLION CAREER
At the age of 25, there are two aspects of Rainbow
Quest’s career which make him an invaluable asset to Britain’s
breeding industry. He has sired more stakes winners – 91 - than any
other British-based stallion in the history of the European
Pattern, and his daughters are now proving outstanding producers,
successful enough to earn him the title of champion sire of
broodmares in 2003 and 2004.
If his outstanding Japanese son Sakura Laurel, a winner of the
Arima Kinen and Tenno Sho, is included, Rainbow Quest has no fewer
than 18 Gr.1 winners among his first 919 foals, which works out to
nearly 2 %. And with his total of Group winners now well over 50,
his percentage of Group winners stands at an impressive 6%. Very
few European stallions ever come close to this type of strike
rate.
It took him only two seasons at stud to come up with the winners
of the Derby, Irish Oaks, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Grand Prix de
Paris, Hollywood Turf Cup and Prix du Cadran. Since then he has
added many more top prizes to his collection, such as the Irish
2,000 Guineas, Oaks d’Italia, St Leger (twice), Prix Royal-Oak
(twice), Eclipse Stakes, Prix Lupin and Prix d’Ispahan. Four of his
offspring have become Gr.1 winners at the age of two.
A notable feature of Rainbow Quest’s record is the considerable
success his progeny have enjoyed in North America. Quest For Fame
(Hollywood Turf Handicap) and Passagere du Soir (two Gr.2 wins)
helped set the ball rolling and they have been followed by the
champion filly Fiji (Yellow Ribbon Stakes and Gamely Handicap),
Urgent Request (Santa Anita Handicap), Rainbow Dancer (Hollywood
Turf Handicap and Oak Tree Turf Championship), Raintrap (Rothman’s
International and San Juan Capistrano Handicap) and Northern Quest
(Del Mar Handicap and Golden Gate Breeders’ Cup Handicap). His sons
Quest For Fame and Panoramic have also been represented by Gr.1
winners in the U.S.
The major winners out of Rainbow Quest’s daughters include the
classic winners North Light (Derby), Kris Kin (Derby),
Footstepsinthesand (2,000 Guineas) and Rakti (Derby Italiano), plus
Gr.1 winners of the calibre of Powerscourt (Arlington Million),
Polish Summer (Sheema Classic), Meteor Storm, Marotta and
Rebelline. Altogether they already have more than 30 Group winners
to their credit, witth many more still to come.